Jury convicts man of 2021 Lindenwood Park ‘thrill kill’
ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis jury convicted a man accused of gunning down a man outside his home in the Lindenwood Park neighborhood in 2021.
The shooting happened on February 5 in the 3300 block of Leola Avenue, just off Watson Road.
Don Yorker had just gotten home from work around 5:30 p.m. and had gone outside to collect his mail. At that same time, Ledra Craig was driving in the neighborhood when he saw Yorker about to walk inside.
Prosecutors said Craig got out of his car, walked up to Yorker, and asked him for directions to Union Station. While Yorker was giving him directions, Craig took out a 9mm handgun and shot Yorker once in the face.
Police later found Yorker on the sidewalk. Yorker was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was 53.
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On March 8, a St. Louis police officer spotted a white Toyota Avalon in the same neighborhood with an improper registration. The officer conducted a traffic stop and discovered the man driving the car, Craig, had a 9mm in his possession.
Craig initially denied involvement in the shooting, but a shell casing from the murder scene was tied to Craig’s 9mm.
Prosecutors described Yorker’s murder as a “thrill kill,” saying Craig kept a photo of Yorker and a video of a news story about the shooting on his cellphone.
The jury found Craig, now 21, guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. Craig waived jury sentencing in this case because the punishment for first-degree murder in Missouri is life without parole.
The case was previously tried in April 2023 but resulted in a hung jury, with an 11-1 split in favor of conviction.
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